Creamy Tomato Pasta with Smoked Salmon

You might be asking yourself, "What is up with all the smoked salmon??" Well,  the answer to that is I can get very good smoked salmon around here. I can get fairly decent frozen salmon around here. I say fairly decent, because it's not fresh and to me, frozen salmon always has a different texture. A drier texture. I grew up on fresh salmon, and therefore am used to succulent, moist, delicious salmon. In Oregon, all it takes is a trip to Costco. Even though we lived about an hour from the coast, the grocery stores around us always had fresh fare.  Fresh fish is one of the things I miss most about Oregon. We tried a fresh salmon from our local big box store one time, and it was gross.  So, I stick to frozen fish and smoked salmon. Such is life.

Pumpkin Spice Oreo Cookies

Please forgive me. I'm all about the cookie lately. There's something about fall that makes me want to break out the pumpkin, the cinnamon, the spicy spices that make Spice Cake magical... so when I saw Pumpkin Spice Oreo's at the grocery store, I jumped. I grabbed 2 packages to put in the cart as the hubby rolled his eyes.

"More truffles?" He said, eyeing the cream cheese that was also in the cart.

"No," I said, nose in air. "I'll make something else."

In my head, I racked my brain. I had been planning on truffles. Now what?

Apple Pie Cookies

It's 5 am.

I'm up early, because the rest of the day is kind of busy. Yesterday, a girlfriend asked if I wanted to meet at the local Mexican restaurant for margaritas and lunch. Not the kind of girl to turn down tequila, I said hell yeah! Which means the hubby and I need to get out of the house and to the gym early today. 

So, yeah, it's 5 am on Friday, one of my bigger post days, and I'm just staring at multiple recipe posts I've got finished and ready to go. I can't pick one. I can't even think of what I'm going to write. One of those kind of days.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Oat Bars

Did you guys try my Carmelitas?

If you did, and you became *obsessed* with them like I did- you're in for a treat! These chocolate-peanut butter bites are basically a modification of their caramel counterparts. I feel like the Carmelita recipe is such a solid recipe that you can sub out the caramel and chocolate for other combinations, and win big.

25 Muffin and Quick Bread Recipes

Happy Friday everyone!

It's been a long time since I posted a round-up, so I thought, why the heck not? Time to get back to my round-up's. First up, muffins and quick breads. I heart muffins and quick breads. I feel like muffins are the perfect jumping off point for someone just learning to bake. The recipes are simple and most of the time, forgiving. If there was one tip I could offer for the muffin newbie, it's this- mixing is not your friend. Cakes and cupcakes differ from muffins in the fact that mixing is paramount to the quality of your final product. Air is usually incorporated into those baked goods by creaming the butter and sugar. Most muffin recipes use baking powder or baking soda to cause the muffin to rise. Therefore, mixing until your arm falls off is not required. In fact, most of the time you'll find that the more you mix a muffin, the denser and tougher the muffin will be. Therefore, you'll want to mix the muffin ingredients just until the elements are moistened, but no more. Some of the recipes can even be made in one bowl. 

Mini Blackberry Swirl Cheesecakes

I was looking through my picture portfolio the other day when I realized some peculiar...

There isn't a single blackberry recipe on my blog. Not. Even. One.

It's time to remedy that in the best possible way!

Kentucky Hot Browns

If you want me to be completely honest with you, I will. I'd never heard of Kentucky Hot Browns until I moved to Kentucky. Seriously. I'd lived here a year and a half before I even heard the term. I was perusing FaceBook when I saw an article about The Brown Hotel, birthplace of the Kentucky Hot Brown. The story is, in the 1920's, upper class citizens used to come to The Brown Hotel to dance until the wee hours of the morning. After dancing away the night, they would make their bleary way to the kitchen where they would request a breakfast-y type dish. Wanting to serve his patrons something more upper-crust then eggs and bacon, the chef at The Brown Hotel devised an open-face turkey sandwich slathered in Mornay (that's CHEESE!) sauce. The Kentucky Hot Brown was born.

Cinnamon Toffee Chip Cookies

 

You know what? It's Friday. And I think it's time for a cookie recipe!

I haven't shared a cookie recipe since April (Those S'mores Cookies I made for my brother's birthday). Gasp! It's not like I don't make cookies. Oh, I make cookies alright. It's just that... I've made so many cookie recipes, and be sure, if the hubby asks for a cookie, it's usually a variety I've made before. In fact, I've got several cookie ideas on my master idea list that still have yet to come to fruition. Wonderful cookie ideas that include Churro Cookies, Oatmeal Nutella Cookies, Coconut Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies, and White Chocolate Chip Cookies. When will I get around to them?

Chocolate Avocado Quick Bread

I've been eating an abnormal amount of avocados lately. It's just been one of those phases. You know, the periods in your life where you become so obsessed with something you find yourself eating it everyday? This seems to happen to me all the time. As of late, it's guacamole. Multiple times a week, I've been finding myself at the grocery store picking up yet another 2 avocados. 2 avocados makes enough guacamole for me to eat for exactly 3 days. If I'm not sharing my guac, that is. I mix it with finely minced red onion, fresh cilantro from the garden, a little lime juice, and a smattering of kosher salt. It's guacamole perfection, every time. 

Lemon Blueberry Zucchini Muffins

We've made it to another Friday! TGIF!

Politics are not the normal fodder here on the blog, but I'm guessing a lot of people watched the GOP debate last night. If only to see what Donald Trump would do. After his tasteless jab at Rosie O'Donnell (not a huge Rosie O'Donnell fan, I just don't like to see any man call any woman a fat pig), I pretty much could see how the night would go. In fact, the little bro and I came up with a GOP debate night drinking game while the hubby was at work yesterday. I won't regale you with all the rules, I'll just share a couple of my favorites:

Carmelitas

Oh boy. Have I got the treat for you today! You will love these. Your family will love these. You will not want to share. You will baby-sit the pan, scarfing straight from it, giving anyone who approaches the evil eye. Maybe even a possessive growl or two. You will find yourself looking for hiding places in the back of your cabinets, in the back of the freezer, in the washing machine for heaven's sake. There's something about the combination of caramel candies, oatmeal, and chocolate chips. Once the caramel candies melt and become ooey-gooey, they gel the bars together in the best possible way. I know I tell you guys to try a lot of things, but trust me. These are the creme de la creme of recipes.

Creamy Pepperoni Dip & Parmesan Dippers

Let's take a break from summer fruit in a big way. Because pepperoni is probably the farthest thing from fruit you can get. Put it in a creamy, cheesy dip to be liberated by crispy, salty pizza-crust dippers and you.will.die.

In the best possible way, of course :)

Blueberry Peach Crisp

This recipe is brought to you today by my insatiable hunger for summer fruit. If I could bathe myself in summer peaches, watermelons, raspberries and really, all berries, etc- I would. 

Just ask the hubby. I'm literally obsessed with fruit in the summer. Every summer.

Kiwi Lime Pie

Recently, I've been watching "Friends" on Netflix. As in, going through the entire series from start to finish. Comfort bingeing, if you will. Anyhoo, I got the fantastic idea to create recipes from the show. Like Salmon en Croute, which Monica makes for Rachel to serve Joshua. Or Phoebe's Chocolate Chip Cookies. Granted, Phoebe's Chocolate Chip Cookies are Nestle's Tollhouse's, so I'll have to do some playing around there. But first, Monica's Kiwi Lime Pie- 

Cookies and Cream Cake

Ah, cake. There are few things in this world as glorious as cake. In honor of the humble cake, here are a few of my favorite cake quotations-

The one everyone knows : "Let them eat cake!" Marie Antoinette 

Good advice: "When all else fails, bake a cake."

True life: "You only live once, lick the bowl!"

Peanut Butter & Jelly Muffins

 

Guess what???

I saw my first hummingbird of the season last night! I was soooooooo excited. The hubby and I were watching "Mad Men" when I caught the first glimpse. Yes, the hubby and I are quite behind on "Mad Men". We actually hadn't watched a single episode since we left Portland. We estimated this left us at the Season 4 finale. However, we estimated this after we had re-watched all of Season 4 and before we subsequently realized we watched it in Portland. For the love. Here's the funny part- both the hubby and I remembered some moments from Season 4, but for the most part, it was all new. We cannot figure out, for the life of us, how we watched all of Season 4 in Oregon, and somehow don't remember most of it. Anyhoo, we've recovered from that faux pas and we've steamed ahead. We just started Season 6. Just as enthralled as ever. In fact, it's making me want to create cocktail recipes and Chicken Kiev for the blog... but back to that hummingbird-

Cinnamon Sugar & Caramel Snack Mix

Holy addictiveness Batman.

This snack mix is good. This snack mix is great. This snack mix will make you want to do the happy dance around your kitchen as soon as it hits your tastebuds. This snack mix will make you smack the hands of all who come near that wonderful, over-flowing bowl of caramel-y goodness.

And the best part? It's super-easy to make. 

Recipe Redux: S'mores Cookies

Happy Friday!

Time for this month's Recipe Redux. I wasn't even planning on redoing this recipe anytime soon, however my little brother asked for S'mores Cookies for his birthday. Let's jump right in, shall we?

Here's what the cookies previously looked like:

Blueberry Cream Cupcakes

Well everybody, I thought since I posted the recipe for Fresh Blueberry Curd on Tuesday that today I'd post a follow-up recipe. My favorite vanilla cupcakes, bursting at the seams with fresh blueberry curd, all topped with whipped cream-like frosting and a few tart berries.

Chicken, Broccoli, and Rice Casserole

Time for a revamp on a classic recipe!

I'm pretty sure it's a requirement as a cook/chef to have your very own recipe for Chicken, Broccoli, and Rice Casserole. It's a classic for a reason. Those flavors that always seem to gel perfectly together. Crunchy, crisp broccoli. Creamy rice. Savory chicken. All married together with cheesy, savory sauce. Ooh child, it doesn't get much better than this.